Large-capacity card supply magazines comprising a device for retaining and transferring cards

ABSTRACT

In a card supply magazine with a device for retaining and transferring cards, the walls of a loading ramp are turned angularly about a vertical axis relatively to the walls of a lower reception magazine. The cards situated at the bottom of a stack in the ramp rest on two support surfaces and on a rotatable roller. When the roller is driven in rotational movement by a motor, cards driven frictionally by the roller rotate about the said axis and fall into the lower magazine from which they are extracted. A vibrator arranged at the bottom of the stack facilitates the fall of the cards into the lower magazine. The motor is controlled by a device monitoring the level of the cards in the lower magazine.

United States Patent Keulen v [451 June 27, 1972 [54] LARGE-CAPACITY CARD SUPPLY [56] References Cited MAGAZINES COMPRISING A DEVICE FOR RETAINING AND TRANSFERRING UNITED STATES PATENTS CARDS 2,731,271 1/1956 Brown ..27l/4l X 2,533,932 12/1950 Hayek ..27l/23 X Inventor: Gerber- J Keulen, Amsterdam-Zuid, 3,062,531 11/1962 Clarke ..27l/89 x Netherlands 73 Assignee: Bull General Electric (Nederland) N.V., Wegbre Amsterdam, Netherlands Attorney-Baldwm, Wight & Brown [22] Filed: Aug. 20, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl.No.:165,675 In a card supply magazine with a device for retaining and transferring cards, the walls of a loading ramp are turned an- Related Applicat'on Data gularly about a vertical axis relatively to the walls of a lower [63] Continuation of Ser. 793,843, Jan 24, 1969 reception magazine. The cards situated at the bottom of a abandohe stack in the ramp rest on two support surfaces and on a rotatable roller. When the roller is driven in rotational movement by [30] Foreign Application priority n a motor, cards driven frictionally by the roller rotate about the said axis and fall into the lower magazine from which they are Feb. 2, 1968 Netherlands ..680l512 extraete A vibrator arranged at the bottom f the Stack facilitates the fall of the cards into the lower magazine. The [52] U.S.Cl ..271/61, 271/41 motor is eomrohed by a device monitoring the level f the [51 Int. Cl ..B65h 1/06 cards in the lower magazine [58] FieldofSearch ..271/61,23,41,35,44

10 Claims, 6 Drawing lFigures PATENTEBJum I972 SHEET 1 UF 4 FIG.1

LARGE-CAPACITY CARD SUPPLY MAGAZINES COMPRISING A DEVICE FOR RETAINING AND TRANSFERRING CARDS This is a continuation of Ser. No. 793,848 filed Jan. 24, 1969'and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to improvements in largecapacity card supply magazines comprising a device for retaining and transferring cards. In the field of high-speed machines for the processing of data, the data to be processed are often introduced into the machines by means of record cards on which data are recorded in the form of marks, perforations, etc. Machines constructed for use with these documents are becoming increasingly faster in their action and it has become necessary to provide the machines with card supply magazines of very large capacity which can store a stack of 2,000 to 5,000 cards or more. The cards are introduced into the magazine either manually or by means of loading devices permitting. 2,000 cards or more at a time to be handled.

The card-extracting mechanisms constructed for extracting cards from a supply magazine are generally not very well suited to being able to operate correctly under the weight of such loads and without risking damaging the cards to a greater or less extent.

In order to obviate these disadvantages, supply magazines have been proposed wherein the cards to be treated are stacked in a large-capacity loading ramp at the bottom of which the cards rest on a magazine for retaining and transferring cards. This is adapted to support the stack of cards and to transfer the cards from the said ramp at a predetermined rhythm into a lower reception magazine arranged below, under the control of a monitoring device adapted to monitor the level of the cards in the said lower magazine, from which the cards are extracted in known manner to be introduced into a card conveying system of the machine. The lower magazine is dimensioned to contain only a few hundred cards.

Large-capacity card magazines are known wherein cards stacked in a loading ramp rest on rollers which may be driven in rotational movement under the control of a device which monitors the level of the cards in the lower magazine. When the rollers are driven to transfer cards, the cards arranged at the bottom of the stack slide against one another until they fall into the lower magazine. In this system, the friction between the transferred cards is sometimes sufficient to damage cards or perforations.

In order to obviate these disadvantages, magazines have been proposed which comprise a retaining device adapted to eliminate substantially all friction between the transferred cards. In these magazines, the cards situated at the bottom of the stack in the charging ramp rest by their ends on retaining rollers the rotation of which is controlled by a device which monitors the level of the cards in the reception magazine and causes the escape of cards which fall into the said lower magazine.

Although satisfactory in operation, this retaining and transfer mechanism described above is of relatively complex and expensive construction and is tricky to regulate.

The present invention has as its object to obviate these disadvantages, and concerns a card supply magazine of large capacity provided with a device for retaining and transferring cards, wherein a lower reception magazine is provided with at least three vertical walls, namely one large wall and first and second small walls arranged to guide cards in a stack by one large side and two small sides respectively, and wherein a loading ramp situated above the lower magazine is provided with three substantially vertical walls, namely one large wall and first and second small walls arranged to guide a stack of cards by these same sides. The horizontal section of the ramp is turned relatively to the horizontal section of the magazine about a vertical axis passing through a corresponding point in the large wall of the lower magazine and at the bottom of the large wall of the ramp, so that the cards in the ramp are supported at one side by two triangular surfaces respectively on .the top of the first small wall and the top of a portion of the large wall of the lower magazine. A frictional-periphery roller which can be driven in rotational movement by a motor is situated to provide a third supporting point under a corner of the non-supported small side of the stack of cards in the ramp and has its axis of rotation oriented approximately to pass through the said vertical axis, so that when the roller rotates in an appropriate sense, the lower card of the stack of cards in the ramp turns about the said vertical axis, leaves its two supporting surfaces and the wheel, and falls into the lower magazine.

Relatively to the known arrangements, an arrangement in this manner has chiefly the advantage of being extremely simple mechanically and absolutely reliable in operation.

A card magazine constructed on this principle for supplying for example a rapid card-sorting machine, can transfer cards intermittently at an instantaneous speed of 4,000 cards per minute, whereas cards are extracted from the lower, magazine at a lower average speed, for example, 3,000 cards per minute.

Further advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a card supply magazine with cards in the loading ramp and in the lower magazine,

FIG. 2 shows a card supply magazine similar to that of FIG. 1, but without cards,

FIG. 3 shows a diagrammatic plan viewillustrating various parts of a device for retaining and transferring cards according to the invention,

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the lower magazine associated with a device for extracting cards,

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the main elements of the lower magazine of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the monitoring and control circuits of the device for retaining and trans ferring cards. I

In the card supply magazine which is shown in FIG. I, the cards of a main supply of cards C are packed face-to-face, as shown stacked in a loading ramp section which is provided with walls ll, 12 and 13 to guide the cards. The wall 11, designated the large wall, guides the cards at one large side whereas the walls 12 and 13, referred. to as small walls, are ar' ranged to guide the ends of the cards. To permit the easy charging of the cards, no fourth wall is provided, and consequently the wall 11 is slightly inclined towards the rear so that the cards in the stack bear against the said wall. The lower receiving section or reception magazine, which is situated below the bottom or discharge end of the loading ramp, is provided with a large wall which comprises a lower portion ISA and an upper portion 15B (see FIG. 2) and two narrower walls designated as small walls, the first of which comprises a lower portion 16A and an upper portion 16B, whereas the second 17 is provided with a discharge control plate 49. (FIG. 4).

The walls of the upper ramp are turned relatively to the walls of the lower magazine about a vertical axis X which, in the example described, passes (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) substantially centrally of the width of the wall 11, at the bottom of the ramp and approximately centrally of the length of the large wall of the lower magazine.

The position of the vertical axis X which passes through a corresponding point of the large wall of the ramp and the large wall of the lower magazine can be situated at another place, for example at X! (FIG. 4) which is approximately at a third of the width of the wall 11 of the ramp, or in any other position regarded as suitable along the wall 15B.

The stack of cards C which is in the upper ramp is biassed downwardly toward its discharge end by gravity but is supported partly by two triangular card restraining supporting surfaces 18 and 19 (FIGS. 2, 3) which are provided respectively by the upper edge of the walls 16B and 15B of the lower magazine. The card restraining surfaces 18 and 19 support the end card C at the bottom of the pack adjacent the discharge end of the loading section and thus support the pack by contacting the end card only on two angularly meeting edge portions of the end card. To facilitate the release of the cards from these supporting surfaces 18 and 19 during the transfer of cards, and delivery to the receiving section the surfaces are preferably inclined towards the bottom of the lower magazine.

The lower or end card of the stack of cards C is contacted and supported on the other hand (FIGS. 1 and 3) by a card displacing member, in the form shown, a rotatable roller 22 provided at its periphery with a material having a high coefficient of friction. The upper portion of the said roller, on which the cards rest, is arranged, with the supporting surfaces 18 and 19, substantially in a plane perpendicular to the wall 11 of the upper ramp. The roller 22 contacts the lower end card in the pack at a location spaced from the card restraining surfaces 18 and 19, and hence spaced from the two aforesaid angularly meeting edges of the end card.

The rotatable roller 22 is mounted on the shaft 23 of a driving motor 24 whose axis of rotation Y is preferably oriented (FIG. 3) so as substantially to intersect, i.e. to pass substantially through the vertical axis X.

When the roller 22 is driven in rotational movement by the motor in the direction indicated by the arrow R (FIG. 3), the lower cards of the bottom of the stack C are driven successively by the roller and rotated about the vertical axis X (FIG. 3). In response to this movement of the card displacing roller member 22, the end card at the bottom of the pack is twisted about an axis, e.g. the axis X, extending through the supply of cards in the direction of packing in the loading section. As a result, the non-supported corner of the end card passes below the lower edge 25 of the wall 11 of the ramp (FIGS. 2 and 3) and each card thus successively entrained is ejected by its bias and leaves the supporting surfaces 18 and 19 and also the rotatable roller 22 to come into a position where it falls into the lower magazine. Under the action of the rotational movement of the roller, the cards are first of all slightly staggered relatively to one another in the direction of transfer, and then are displaced together so as to fall successively into the lower magazine. However, the friction between the cards is very variable and depends inter alia on the weight of the stack of cards in the loading ramp, the number and distribution of perforations in the case of perforated cards, the state of the surface of the cards and, where appropriate, static electricity carried along by the said cards.

To ensure the regular transfer of cards a beater member, e.g., a vibrator 26 is arranged (FIGS. 1 to 4) at the bottom of the stack C and against one small side of the cards. This vibrator comprises a surface 27 parallel to the stack and given a rapid vibrating movement in the direction of the double arrow V (FIG. 3) perpendicularly to the surface of the stack of cards, under the action of an electromagnetic motor 28 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 6). The vibrator is actuated at the same time as the roller 22 is driven. Under the action of the roller, cards arranged at the bottom of the stack are brought towards the vibrator. The latter is provided, at its lower portion, with an inclined surface 29 which permits the passage of the cards during the course of transfer. By its action, the vibrator promotes the regular staggering of the transferred cards and also ensures the transfer of the last cards of a stack which otherwise might remain in the upper ramp.

To transfer documents as thin as record cards, the lower edge 25 of the wall 11 of the upper ramp may be straight over the entire width of the wall (FIG. 2). However, to transfer thicker or more rigid documents than cards, or for a transfer device having a very high card output, the lower portion of the wall 11 of the ramp could be partly set higher up from the axis X onwards, as indicated at 35 in FIG. 4.

In order to monitor the level of the cards in the lower magazine and control the transfer mechanism in accordance with this level, control means comprising a photoelectric monitoring sensing device (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the device S comprises an electric lamp L and a photoelectric cell P arranged at a specific level in the lower magazine (FIG. 4) and in such a manner that, when the cards are present at this level in the said magazine, the light emitted by the lamp L towards the cell P is intercepted by the cards. A similar device M is arranged (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) to monitor the presence (or absence) of cards in the said magazine. To constitute the bottom of the magazine there has been shown by way of example (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) a mechanism 33 for the extraction of cards. This device of the conveyor belt" type comprises (FIGS. 5 and 6) two belts 40 and 41 mounted on the one hand on driving pulleys 42 and 43 and mounted on the other hand on supporting pulleys 44, 45, 46 and 47. The driving pulleys 42 and 43 are fast with a shaft 48 which can be driven (FIG. 6) by a motor 36. When this motor is energized and rotates, the belts 40 and 41 frictionally drive cards which pass below the discharge control plate 49 and issue from the magazine in a partially overlapping relationship.

It should be understood that any other card extraction device may be used in accordance with the conditions required by the conveyance of cards after they have issued from the magazine.

The diagram shown in FIG. 6 shows a simplified example of control circuits for a card supply magazine provided with a device for retaining and transferring cards constructed according to the invention. In order to simplify, it has been assumed that the motors 24 and 36, and also the electromagnetic motor 28 of the vibrator, can be energized with direct current. In this layout, the electrical current is supplied through and terminals to a control panel T to which there is connected the motor 36 for the extraction of the cards from the lower magazine, and also the monitoring device M similar to the photoelectric monitoring device S and adapted to stop the motor 36 in known manner when there are no longer any cards in the lower magazine. The panel is provided with a manual control element W to effect the starting of the motor 36. A manual control element AR is used for effecting stopping. At the same time as the motor 36 is energized, electrical current is sent through a line LI to a switch circuit I for the motor 24 operating the roller 22, the circuit I being controlled by the device S which supervises the level of the cards in the lower magazine in such a manner that when the height of the cards substantially exceeds the level of S the switch I is opened, but the switch is closed when the height of the cards is below the level ofS.

Owing to the extraction of cards, the upper level of the cards drops in the lower magazine and when this level descends below S the switch I is closed. From this instant, the motor 24 of the roller 22 is driven and the electromagnetic motor 28 of the vibrator 26 is actuated for the transfer of cards into the lower magazine. It has been said that the cards are fed or transferred into the lower magazine at a greater rate than that at which they are extracted from the said magazine so that even during the extraction of cards the card level or amount of accumulation of cards can be maintained approximately constant in the lower magazine or receiving section by the addition of the transferred cards. When the level of the cards rises again above the level of the device S, the switch I is opened and the motors 24 and 28 are stopped. If it is assumed that the extraction of the cards is continued, the level of the cards drops again and so forth.

In practice the opening and closing of the switch circuit I under control of the photoelectric device S is obtained with a certain delay which has the result that during the extraction of the cards the level of the cards in the lower magazine can vary between a first level N1 which is only slightly higher than the level of S and a second level N2 which is distinctly lower than the level of S, as long as cards can be transferred from the upper ramp. When a last card is extracted from the lower magazine the monitoring device M brings about the stopping of the motor 36 and an electric current is transmitted through a line LS to actuate a control or signalling device to indicate that the supply magazine is completely emptied of cards.

It will be apparent that the arrangements described hereinbefore for illustrating one application of the invention are in no way limitative and that any modifications and adaptations could be made thereto in accordance with particular cases and applications, without departing from the invention. Thus the upper ramp may be perfectly vertical, provided that different guiding for the cards is ensured, or may be inclined much more than in the example described if it is desired to reduce the component of the weight of the cards acting on the transfer device.

lclaim:

1. In a card supply magazine, an arrangement comprising a loading ramp situated above a lower magazine from which cards are extracted, and a device for retaining and transferring cards which is arranged between the upper magazine and the lower magazine, the said arrangement being characterized in that the said lower magazine is provided at least with three vertical walls, namely a large wall and first and second small walls arranged to guide cards in a stack by one large side and two small sides respectively, the said loading ramp being provided with three substantially vertical walls, namely one large wall and first and second small walls arranged to guide a stack of cards by these same sides: the horizontal section of the said ramp being turned relatively to the horizontal section of the said lower magazine and about a vertical axis passing through one and the same corresponding point in the large wall of the said lower magazine and at the bottom of the large wall of the said ramp, so that the cards in the ramp are supported at one side by two triangular surfaces respectively on the top of the said first small wall and the top of a portion of the said large wall of the lower magazine, and a frictional-periphery roller which may be driven in rotational movement by a motor, the said roller being situated to provide a third supporting point under a corner of the non-supported small side of the stack of cards in the ramp and has its axis of rotation substantially horizontal and orientated to pass through the said vertical axis, so that, when the said roller rotates in an appropriate direction, the lower card of a stack of cards in the said upper ramp rotates about the said vertical axis, leaves the two said supporting surfaces and the said roller and falls into the said lower magazine.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the large wall of the said loading ramp is inclined relatively to the vertical to offer support to the said stack of cards.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that a beater member which is given a reciprocating movement against one side of the said stack of cards is arranged toward the bottom of the second small wall of the said loading ramp so as to facilitate, by its action, the separation and fall of the cards into the said lower magazine.

4. An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that in the said lower card magazine which is provided in its bottom portion with a card extracting device there is provided at a specific level a monitoring device for monitoring the level of the cards in the said magazine and control circuits arranged so as to interrupt and re-establish the supply of power to the said driving motor for the roller depending on whether the height of the stack of cards in the said lower magazine extends slightly above the said level or is notably lower than the said level.

-5. ln apparatus for feeding cards or the like, the combination of a loading section for holding a face-to-face packed main supply of cards and having a discharge end from which cards biassed toward said discharge end are to be delivered; a receiving section positioned relative to said loading section for receiving cards discharged from said discharge end of said loading section; means adjacent the discharge end of said loading section providing two restraining surfaces for contacting an end card at the end of said supply of cards adjacent said discharge end of said loading section only on two angularly meeting edges of said end card; a card displacing member for contacting said end card at the corner thereof opposite to said two angularly meeting edges of said end card; and means for moving said card displacing member in a direction to rotate said end card in its plane about an axis extending through the supply of cards in the direction of packing thereof, thereby to remove said end card edges from said restrainin surfaces and to permit the biassing of sald main supply of car 5 to e ect said end card from said loading section for delivery into said receiving section.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which said loading section is positioned above said receiving section with the discharge end of said loading section adjacent to said receiving section, whereby said main supply of cards is biased downwardly by gravity and cards ejected from said loading section fall into said receiving section.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which said card displacing member is a rotatable member having a friction surface engageable with said end card.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said rotatable member is mounted to rotate about an axis substantially intersecting the said axis of rotation of said end card.

9. Apparatus according to claim 5 further including means for feeding cards from said receiving section at a rate slower than the rate of delivering cards from said loading section to said receiving section, whereby a supply of cards will accumulate in said receiving section; and control means including sensing means responsive to the amount of accumulation of cards in said receiving section for stopping the operation of said card displacing member when said accumulation builds up to a predetermined amount, and for starting operation of said card displacing member when said accumulation is reduced to a predetermined amount.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which said sensing means comprises a photoelectric device. 

1. In a card supply magazine, an arrangement comprising a loading ramp situated above a lower magazine from which cards are extracted, and a device for retaining and transferring cards which is arranged between the upper magazine and the lower magazine, the said arrangement being characterized in that the said lower magazine is provided at least with three vertical walls, namely a large wall and first and second small walls arranged to guide cards in a stack by one large side and two small sides respectively, the said loading ramp being provided with three substantially vertical walls, namely one large wall and first and second small walls arranged to guide a stack of cards by these same sides: the horizontal section of the said ramp being turned relatively to the horizontal section of the said lower magazine and about a vertical axis passing through one and the same corresponding point in the large wall of the said lower magazine and at the bottom of the large wall of the said ramp, so that the cards in the ramp are supported at one side by two triangular surfaces respectively on the top of the said first small wall and the top of a portion of the said large wall of the lower magazine, and a frictional-periphery roller which maY be driven in rotational movement by a motor, the said roller being situated to provide a third supporting point under a corner of the non-supported small side of the stack of cards in the ramp and has its axis of rotation substantially horizontal and orientated to pass through the said vertical axis, so that, when the said roller rotates in an appropriate direction, the lower card of a stack of cards in the said upper ramp rotates about the said vertical axis, leaves the two said supporting surfaces and the said roller and falls into the said lower magazine.
 2. An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the large wall of the said loading ramp is inclined relatively to the vertical to offer support to the said stack of cards.
 3. An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that a beater member which is given a reciprocating movement against one side of the said stack of cards is arranged toward the bottom of the second small wall of the said loading ramp so as to facilitate, by its action, the separation and fall of the cards into the said lower magazine.
 4. An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that in the said lower card magazine which is provided in its bottom portion with a card extracting device there is provided at a specific level a monitoring device for monitoring the level of the cards in the said magazine and control circuits arranged so as to interrupt and re-establish the supply of power to the said driving motor for the roller depending on whether the height of the stack of cards in the said lower magazine extends slightly above the said level or is notably lower than the said level.
 5. In apparatus for feeding cards or the like, the combination of a loading section for holding a face-to-face packed main supply of cards and having a discharge end from which cards biassed toward said discharge end are to be delivered; a receiving section positioned relative to said loading section for receiving cards discharged from said discharge end of said loading section; means adjacent the discharge end of said loading section providing two restraining surfaces for contacting an end card at the end of said supply of cards adjacent said discharge end of said loading section only on two angularly meeting edges of said end card; a card displacing member for contacting said end card at the corner thereof opposite to said two angularly meeting edges of said end card; and means for moving said card displacing member in a direction to rotate said end card in its plane about an axis extending through the supply of cards in the direction of packing thereof, thereby to remove said end card edges from said restraining surfaces and to permit the biassing of said main supply of cards to eject said end card from said loading section for delivery into said receiving section.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which said loading section is positioned above said receiving section with the discharge end of said loading section adjacent to said receiving section, whereby said main supply of cards is biased downwardly by gravity and cards ejected from said loading section fall into said receiving section.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which said card displacing member is a rotatable member having a friction surface engageable with said end card.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said rotatable member is mounted to rotate about an axis substantially intersecting the said axis of rotation of said end card.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 5 further including means for feeding cards from said receiving section at a rate slower than the rate of delivering cards from said loading section to said receiving section, whereby a supply of cards will accumulate in said receiving section; and control means including sensing means responsive to the amount of accumulation of cards in said receiving section for stopping the operation of said card displacing member when said accumulation builds up to a predetermineD amount, and for starting operation of said card displacing member when said accumulation is reduced to a predetermined amount.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which said sensing means comprises a photoelectric device. 